Chapter 236: Don’t Tell Me the 30 Billion Can’t Be Cashed Out?

The tide in the comments section gradually shifted, and some who had been hesitant to speak up began to voice their opinions.

Everyone had pent-up frustration, and their enthusiasm for contributing Star Power surged to an all-time high.

[Then I’m just gonna say it. Enabling the broadcast of her thoughts without the task-taker’s knowledge is basically helping the heroine cheat.]

[Did she commit some unforgivable crime? Why do her innermost thoughts have to be judged too? I’ve always believed in judging actions, not intentions. If you start judging intentions, you’ll find no one is perfect.]

[Human nature is complex. Not everything is so black and white.]

[I can’t believe Luna Morgan is even funding The Lucas Family. I just can’t accept it!]

[I don’t like Luna Morgan anymore. Is that okay to say? Because I don’t see an ounce of backbone in her.]

[Don’t go too far, @person above. Luna Morgan is funding The Lucas Family to help lessen Jane Lancaster’s karmic debt. She’s not just being mindlessly benevolent!]

[Well, I for one prefer people like Jane Lancaster. She might not be ’kind,’ but she can protect the people she cares about. If Luna Morgan were to face a truly ruthless opponent, she’d have no way to fight back.]

[Jane Lancaster’s pride is a tempered blade, initiative always in her own hands. And Luna Morgan? She’s all shattered blood and tears, forever on her knees begging for someone else’s mercy.]

[I have to say it a million times: Luna Morgan is the heroine! She’s the only bearer of destiny right now!]

[You only dare say ’right now.’ What about before? *picks nose*]

[Aaaah, you guys have gone too far! I’m gonna kill you!]

The arguments below grew heated, escalating to the point of personal threats.

The black-haired priest watched the comments, his expression inscrutable.

After a moment, he raised a hand. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, several user avatars grayed out.

He turned his gaze back to the small world, however. Perhaps it was Number 14’s reckless, impulsive actions that had truly planted the seeds of future trouble.

After all, in this small world, the number of people who originally carried great destiny was more than just one or two.

—

Jane Lancaster felt as if she’d been asleep for a very long time.

As she regained consciousness, she felt her hand held within a warm palm.

Their fingers were laced together, inseparable.

"You’re awake?" Jasper Sterling sensed it instantly, even before she opened her eyes.

Jane Lancaster opened her eyes. "Where am I..."

Her voice trailed off and her breath hitched as her gaze met Jasper Sterling’s.

"This is a private clinic," Jasper Sterling’s voice was slightly strained. "You’ve been unconscious for seven hours."

Jane Lancaster turned to look out the enormous floor-to-ceiling window. The sun was setting in the west, painting the horizon a brilliant gold.

In the distance, the forests were a riot of color and crimson, frost-kissed leaves, creating a breathtakingly beautiful and vibrant scene.

’I actually slept that long?’ she thought, surprised.

"I’m sorry. Did I scare you?" Jane Lancaster asked, feeling the hand holding hers tighten. She quickly added, "I’m fine..."

The System had warned her about low energy right before she fainted, so she wasn’t too alarmed by it.

She just hadn’t expected it would cause her to actually pass out.

"The doctors have already examined you. There’s nothing wrong, they just couldn’t figure out why you wouldn’t wake up." Jasper Sterling felt like he had been on the verge of going insane.

God only knew the terror he’d felt the moment she suddenly collapsed in his arms.

All his usual composure and confidence vanished, replaced by an overwhelming fear that stole his breath.

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind in that instant. ’Could she still have a blood clot in her brain? No, I saw the full medical report. The clot was gone.’

The only thing left was a non-physiological cause—

Some inhuman power was controlling her, just as it had allowed him to suddenly hear her thoughts.

Jasper Sterling lowered his gaze, his eyes filled with a cold, sharp killing intent.

But just as quickly, with a slight flicker of his handsome, peach-blossom eyes, the murderous glint vanished without a trace.

A "KNOCK KNOCK" came from the door, and Gavin pushed it open to enter.

"Let the doctors examine you first," Jasper Sterling said, standing up.

This group of doctors, all titans in the medical field, had been rounded up by Gavin and brought to this small private clinic within a matter of hours.

When Jane Lancaster had suddenly collapsed, his boss had nearly lost his mind. Still, he had maintained enough composure to issue a string of commands.

Gavin had no idea how his boss had endured the hour before the first specialist arrived.

In his experience, Jasper Sterling was always calm and composed. No matter how thorny the problem, he could always find a solution quickly.

That was what he admired about him. The boss never wasted energy on self-doubt, never showed fear. His core was incredibly stable and strong.

A master strategist playing chess, who controlled the outcome from the very first move.

But the Jasper Sterling from that moment was clearly not right. He was like the surface of the ocean above an undersea volcano—calm on top, while turmoil and destruction raged within.

—he seemed to be constantly doubting and second-guessing himself.

Gavin had experienced true, heart-stopping fear today. At the same time, he was confused. Jane Lancaster’s body was clearly fine. Even when she was unconscious, her breathing was steady and she didn’t seem to be in any pain. It was most likely nothing serious.

’Did the boss really need to be this worried?’ It was as if he was afraid she would never wake up again.

It was baffling. It seemed that in that one moment, his boss had completely lost his ability to think rationally.

He hadn’t even been like this when he learned that Jane Lancaster had gone to meet Jean Hughes alone.

—

Taking advantage of a lull in the examination, Jane Lancaster secretly called out to her System in her mind.

’Sys, I’m not asking you to be a miracle worker, but could you at least not be a hindrance? Suddenly running out of energy and making me pass out—are you trying to make people suspicious?’

The System’s mechanical voice sounded somewhat subdued.[Sorry.]

It had to step in and clean up the mess caused by Number 14’s stupidity, patching up the story to make it believable.

Because of that, it couldn’t even take the initiative to ask how the man had guessed her true identity.

Otherwise, with the task-taker’s intelligence, she would quickly figure out about the contract, and everything they had painstakingly planned would be for nothing.

’How long has this been a symptom? Are there any warning signs? If I’m going to faint again, I might as well just stay home and lie down in advance.’

[Sorry. There won’t be a next time.]Number 14 had learned its lesson and probably wouldn’t be showing its face again anytime soon.

As for its other colleagues, while they were greedy, they were used to their lofty positions, content to wait and reap the rewards without personally taking any risks.

Jane Lancaster stopped talking to it and instead started complaining that she was hungry.

She had been out for hours, and now hunger struck. She muttered that she felt like she could eat a horse.

In The Sanctum, the black-haired priest lowered his gaze to the screen before him, his dark eyes, tinged with a faint blue, fixed unblinkingly on the beautiful face in the frame.

’So, is this as far as your probing goes?’

He was just about to turn away from the screen when, unexpectedly, a voice sounded.

"Hey Sys, I feel like you’re duping me. If your energy runs out this easily, you’re not going to be unable to pay out that 30 billion, are you?"

The black-haired priest turned back in surprise to see her lift her head and stare directly into the empty space before her.

Even though he knew she couldn’t see him, he had the distinct, uncanny feeling that he was being watched.